NUI Galway’s Executive MBA, in association with the MBA Association of Ireland Western Chapter, recently hosted its fifth Masterclass event. Entitled Maximising Human Potential & Performance: Lessons from Sports Psychology and Business the Masterclass included a line-up of high-profile speakers including Professor Eamon O’Shea, Caroline Currid, Martin Conroy and Seán McGowan, who shared their insights and personal experiences in a discussion chaired by businessman Pádraig Ó Céidigh.

Professor Eamon O’Shea is a Professor of Economics at the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway and has recently been appointed Manager of the Tipperary Senior Hurling Team for 2013. Professor O’Shea was also the coach for the All-Ireland Champions in 2010.

Caroline Currid, Performance Coach with the National Athlete Development Academy, has had a profound impact on Gaelic games. She has worked with All-Ireland Football Champions Tyrone in 2008 and helped the Tipperary hurlers and Dublin footballers bridge 10 and 16 year gaps, respectively, attain silverware.

Martin Conroy is Director of Continuous Improvement, Global Vascular Operations at Medtronic, Galway. Martin is responsible for developing and deploying the corporate lean strategy across a number of global sites for over 5,000 employees.

Seán McGowan, Ocean Rower, spent 118 days at sea alone, crossing the Atlantic in a small boat. He is a qualified Engineer and holds an MBA and assists with organisations in turnaround situations. During the event Seán spoke very personally of his solo journey across the Atlantic and attributes much of his achievement in doing so to the power of the mind.

The panel discussed the effects of attitude on human potential and the importance in self-belief concluding that Irish people need the move away from their current negative ‘I’m not too bad’ state of mind to an ‘I’m great’ culture. The power and importance of values and the panel’s failures and success were also discussed by the panel.

Dr Alma McCarthy, Director of NUI Galway’s Executive MBA programme, said: “It is an honour and a privilege to receive insights on the psychology of success which are relevant to any context and incumbent on all of us to use the learnings in our personal and professional lives.”